Hollyoaks confirms return for rapist Finn O'Connor as Keith Rice rejoins cast
How will Sinead react to her brother's release following her own sexual assault ordeal?
Hollyoaks is bringing back Finn O'Connor (Keith Rice) when the character is released from prison later this year after being jailed in 2014 for raping his teacher.
With his sister Sinead Shelby (Stephanie Davis) having reported husband Laurie Shelby (Kyle Pryor) for sexual assault, his return has an understandably huge impact on the family.
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By way of trying to help Sinead, Diane Hutchinson (Alex Fletcher) reaches out to stepson Finn and visits him in jail next month, hoping to find a way to get justice for her stepdaughter.
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Following initial scenes while still incarcerated, Hollyoaks has confirmed Finn will be a free man within months – but will he be allowed to settle back in the community, and is he remorseful for his cruel crimes?
Speaking about his return, Rice said: "I'm so excited to be back and working with the talented cast and crew again. I'm really intrigued to see how Finn will integrate back into his family, and also into society. I'm looking forward to exploring that and giving the storyline the respect and sensitivity it deserves."
When was Finn O'Connor last in Hollyoaks?
The controversial character made brief appearances in 2015 and 2017 from behind bars, but left as a full-time cast member in 2014 after being convicted of raping teacher John Paul McQueen (James Sutton). Finn was also found guilty of trying to sexually assault Nancy Osborne (Jessica Fox), who is still in the show and will no doubt be rocked by his return.
Finn and John Paul's dark storyline was praised at the time for increasing awareness of male rape.
Hollyoaks worked closely with support group Survivors Manchester in researching the plot, and the government later ring-fenced £500,000 in order to fund services for male survivors of sexual assault.
Rice had played Finn since April 2013 and was the second actor in the role taking over from Connor Wilkinson.
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